The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for teaching individuals musical harmony and how to vocally reproduce the harmony and/or melody of a prerecorded/preformatted song. Specifically, the present invention involves the use of a single unit or multiple units to playback the harmony component and/or the melody component (and/or sub-components) of a preselected song. As a result, the user of the present invention is able to listen and more effectively discern the discrete harmony and/or melody components of a song, thereby serving as an entertaining device and/or training a user to sing the song""s harmony and/or melody.
Learning or teaching another how to vocally reproduce or sing the harmony and/or melody of a song can be a tedious and time consuming undertaking, generally requiring the expense of a voice coach or singing instructor. Furthermore, without costly equipment, an untrained listener would likely have difficulty separating a song""s harmony and/or melody from a tune heard over the radio, stereo, or any other mode of audio playback. A standard song comprises a melody, which typically contains the words of the song as expressed through a singer""s voice, and one or more harmony parts that are comprised of an accompanying singing voice or a plurality of singing voices. Additionally, the harmony of a song may be further classified into sub-classifications based upon the pitch of the singer""s voice that include: soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Furthermore, it is also widely known in the art of music that these harmony sub-classifications can be further defined by additional sub-classifications, such as baritone and contralto.
More specifically, the harmony of a song is based on the sound and interrelationship between various pitches of a plurality of voices as they sound when they are simultaneously sung (played) together. Further, harmony is comprised of a plurality of sub-categories corresponding to the pitch of a person""s voice with respect to that of another person""s voice. A soprano in general is the highest human voice, however other levels of voice exist. Generally, an alto voice is the lowest of the female voices and is the voice range found between the soprano voice, and the tenor voice. The tenor voice is typically the highest normal register of a male. Finally, the lowest register of a human voice is the bass, and is typically sung by a male.
The melody, on the other hand is generally regarded as being the xe2x80x9ctunexe2x80x9d of a piece of music. Additionally, a melody is created when pitches or notes of a song are structured in succession with each other so as to make an integrated whole.
At present, there are no simple and effective methods or products for facilitating a greater understanding of melody and harmony characteristics and/or to facilitate teaching of these relationships.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art, the applicant""s invention is herein presented.
It is an object of the present invention, or vocal training device, to facilitate an individual""s ability to learn how to vocally reproduce the harmony and/or melody of a prerecorded song. It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a system to allow the user to better understand how the melody and harmony components of a song interact and complement each other. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a system that is simple and cost effective, and appealing to the user. One embodiment of the present invention is comprised of a housing, an electrical circuit for playing back a stored predetermined melody or harmony of a song, a playback mode selector switch, a song selection switch, and a plurality of speakers. The housing may be of any configuration, and in one embodiment may be suitable for use by children, such as being doll-like in form. Any other housing or configuration suitable for enclosing an electrical circuit may be used. To initiate playback of a song, the user actuates a selector switch to select a desired song stored in the electrical circuit""s memory for playback. These songs are preformatted so that the melody, harmony and harmony""s associated sub-components including: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, etc. can be played back as separate, discrete channels via individually dedicated speakers. Next, the user actuates a playback mode selector switch to initiate the unit""s playback options which may comprise the following: playback of the melody and harmony simultaneously, playback of the melody only, playback of the harmony only, or playback of the melody and harmony through separate interacting training units respectively.
Additionally, the present invention may include a system for coupling a plurality of vocal training units together via a connecting system. In an embodiment of the present invention, the training units can be physically linked together or linked wirelessly via a transmitter/receiver system located in each training unit. By linking a plurality of vocal training devices together, the present invention will allow the user to playback the melody, harmony, or specific sub-components of the harmony (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) separately through individual speakers located within each of the connected vocal training devices.